"Brian Loe" <knobdy@stjoelive.com> wrote:
>
> >From the LangaList - pretty sad it has to be said. Posting since it might
> have some relevance to previous posts about DSL wireless routers supplied by
> ISPs.

I'm reminded of when I first went looking for DSL service. I was on
the phone with tech. support, asking about the DSL device I would
get--whether it was a router, with packet-filtering capability, or a
bridge. Answer: Bridge. Me (horrified): "But that means your
customers' PeeCees are exposed directly to the Internet, their
back-sides hangin' out in the breeze, with no protection at all!" Tech:
"Yeah, but they don't know the difference, and wouldn't know what to do
about it even if they did." Nice attitude. Needless to say, *that*
ISP did not get my business.

I soon found out that ISP's attitude was common. "Oh boy, *this* is
gonna be a disaster," I thought. Little did I know how right I was.

> It's obviously not in AOL's interest to advertise their LACK of
> security, all the while advertising their improved security.

I had to dig, and dig hard, to get down to (up to?) a level of tech.
support that could answer my router/bridge question. It's not that the
sales droid and 1st-line tech. support people wouldn't answer my
questions, they *couldn't* answer them. They didn't understand what I
was talking about.

Which may explain why AOL is doing what they're doing--whatever that
is.

So, you take a common consumer/residential broadband connection, which
has no protection at all, add a wireless AP, configured, by default, in
open mode, add an electronic petri dish or two, and what do you have?

Relevant Pages

Re: ADSL interface attenuation...Zyxel routers can do time-based access rules. ... Getting a DSL... until the firmware was changed. ... the IOS and is a free download. ...(comp.dcom.sys.cisco)

Business Class DSL has been going down constantly. HELP!...Business Class DSL Service" started dropping out on us all the time. ... The first visit by the tech... had him tell us the router was bad and that our internal wiring was ... He managed to get the internet back up. ...(microsoft.public.windows.server.networking)

Re: Dual ASDN Lines... none of the dsl routers that I know about support the ... protocols for balancing the circuits.... would get out of a second dsl circuit would be as a hot ...balance by specifying the default gateway on you clients, ...(microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)

Re: Please answer a few questions...... The 'techs' have flowcharts from which they cannot deviate.. ...'tech' can become confused.. ... >> had cable on it and decided to go with DSL.... >> started having probs with Windows XP. ...(microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain)

Re: The Fun Is Just Beginning!...DSL is gone!! ... after a round with the phone tech (at least ...tech guy was baffled for a while when his TDR ... showed a problem somewhere in the alley behind me. ...(alt.2600)